Research Assignment – Pick one of the two options below and conduct research to address the questions posed.- All answers should be in complete sentences.- For each answer you must cite the sources you consulted.

Option 1: the Beatification of Pope John Paul II 1. What is beatification? Why does the Church beatify and canonize individuals?2. Beatification requires the confirmation of a miracle. What is nature of the confirmed miracle in this case? Include as many details as possible.3. Identify three of Pope John Paul II’s major contributions to the life of the Church and write a paragraph about each.4. What is the significance of his beatification being scheduled for May 1st?

Option 2: The Appointment of Fr. Christopher Coyne as Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis 1. Who was the last auxiliary bishop of the diocese and who was the bishop that requested him?2. Provide a biographical analysis of Bishop-Designate Coyne. There is, as of January 17, no Wikipedia entry for Bishop-Designate Coyne. Compile your research such that it could serve as the basis of an entry.3. On the basis of some additional research, identify three challenges that the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is facing. What skills or abilities does Bishop-Designate Coyne possess that will make him well suited to address those issues.

4. Describe the image(s) chosen for Bishop Coyne's Coat of Arms and its significance. Address the source of his motto and its application to his life and ministry.

Monday, January 10, 2011

1. How does St. Thomas Aquinas answer the question, "what is the root or souce of sin?" Put his response in your own words, and draw a diagram to illustrate it.

2. What are the symptoms (manifestations) of an overactive or deficient love of self? (Aquinas gives two).

3. What are the two components of each sinful act? How do these components relate to the O.I.C. criteria that you learned last year in morality?

4. What makes Free Will a crucial element of sin and why did God bestow it upon us?

5. What is meant by the statement: "No sin is committed for its own sake."?

6. In what way does every sin become a type of idolatry?

7. Why would the assertion be made that "all sin ultimately issues in unhappiness."? Is there evidence to support this claim, or is it merely trying to instill in people an aversion to sin?

8. Why does Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman say that we are to be "strangers & pilgrims upon the earth"? Why would he assert that people think they have found God in the goods of this world? Do you find evidence to support this?

9. What happens when a person loves himself wrongly?

10. What, according to St. Augustine, is the irony of taking pleasure in sin and one's own sense of self-importance?

11. Describe Pride, Folly, Sin, and Condemnation as steps in a process.

12. What are cupidity and pride? Explain how they are found in every sin - and give an example of each to illustrate.

1. What is the unperceived fallacy of secular humanism and in what sense is it false?

2. Explain the difference between what society means by self-love and what the Church means by the same term.

3. What is the danger of a flawed concept of self-love from the "liberal Christian" perspective? and from the "orthodox Christian" perspective? Provide an example of each. (Note: "orthodox" in this sense does NOT refer to the eastern Christian churches, but rather to "right belief".)

4. Explain the primary reason that man should love God? Provide an assessment of that reason; is it sufficient to justify a life of faith? why or why not?

5. Characterize the relationship between sin and despair, and illustrate that relationship with an example. (For the bold: What are some practical ways you could disrupt that relationship?)

6. Where do the concepts of creating a perfect society here on earth often go wrong?

7. Why would God wish us to have to struggle to attain happiness?

8. Why is the person who expects or feels entitled to worldly happiness actually setting himself up for bitterness and disappointment?

9. The author's final remarks refer to the cause of war. Opponents of religion often cite it as the cause for wars (i.e. the Crusades). Examine each of the major wars of the 20th Century. What were their causes?

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

1. What is a Vocation? Explain the difference in the common perception and the reality.

2. What is the first and universal vocation of all people?

3. In what sense are vocations "personal"?

4. What do we call the process of figuring out one's vocation?

5. Why is one's vocation something that is "hidden" rather than assigned or given to them?6. Briefly describe the three types of love and each of their two dimensions. How is it that God has all three types of love for humanity?

7. Why did God make man? Send Jesus? Create the Church? (these are from paragraphs 1 - 3 of the Catechism.)